Judge Orders Education Dept. to Reinstate Employees

A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Trump's executive order to shut down the Education Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs. US District Judge Myong Joun in Boston granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from carrying out two plans announced in March that sought to work toward Trump's goal to dismantle the department, the AP reports.

• The lawsuit: The injunction was requested in a lawsuit filed by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts, as well as the American Federation of Teachers and other education groups. The groups said the layoffs amounted to an illegal shutdown of the Education Department. They said it left the department unable to carry out responsibilities required by Congress, including duties to support special education, distribute financial aid, and enforce civil rights laws.

• The judge's order: In his order, Joun said the plaintiffs painted a "stark picture of the irreparable harm that will result from financial uncertainty and delay, impeded access to vital knowledge on which students and educators rely, and loss of essential services for America's most vulnerable student populations." Layoffs of that scale, he added, "will likely cripple the Department." He ordered the Education Department to reinstate federal workers who were terminated as part of the March 11 layoff announcement. Joun's order also blocked the department from transferring its functions to other agencies, per Politico.
• "Efficiency" claim rejected: Joun rejected the administration's claim that the layoffs were for "efficiency," noting that the disruption they caused made processes less efficient, Politico reports.The judge, a Biden appointee, said the "record abundantly reveals" that the "true intention" is to fulfill a Trump campaign promise by dismantling the department without the approval of Congress.

(More Department of Education stories.)